Book of the week: When I Stop Talking, You’ll Know I’m Dead by Jerry Weintraub

($25.99, Twelve)

In his “page-turning” memoir, Hollywood producer Jerry Weintraub wows readers with behind-the-scenes glimpses of big showbiz names, said Mark Egan in Reuters. He’s worked with everyone from Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra to George Clooney and Brad Pitt. But the 72-year-old Weintraub also “offers wisdom for others hoping to follow in his path.” Don’t let the title of the book fool you: Weintraub’s success wasn’t a product of talking so much as asking questions and listening when others were talking. Early in his career, Weintraub figured out that the guy who does favors now will later become “the guy who has favors done for him,” said R.J. Smith in the Los Angeles Times. Such street-savvy guidelines for success pop up throughout a book that’s “packed with stories he’s surely been telling at dinner forever.” If you rarely have the luxury of dining with Hollywood legends, this book may be the next best thing.

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